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Look who was on TV last week? 

We are delighted and excited that a good luck video featuring four of our Special Olympic GB gymnasts was featured on BBC ONE’s Strictly Come Dancing spin off show – It Takes Two. 

The video was shown during an interview with Special Olympic GB Ambassador Catherine Tyldesley last Thursday night.  Take a look if you didn’t get chance to see it. 
 
If any other athletes would like to send a message of their own – or as a group - please email ALISON LAVENANT or send via WhatsApp on 07841 004 183.   We can’t promise that they will make it onto the TV but we will send them all to Catherine as she loves them!

Many thanks to Coach Sue Williams, gymnasts Lizzie, Ellie-Bea, Caroline, Jennifer and the families involved in making this happen.
Athlete Leadership in Action!
Niall Guite from Special Olympics Sheffield was delighted to join the Yorkshire and Humber regional meeting on September 28 to take part in a fireside chat on Athlete Leadership.  

The meeting had a number of club and network representatives from across the region where Niall was there to promote the importance of Athlete Leadership and what an amazing job he did.

"Athlete Leadership is a link between athletes and clubs to help athletes get their ideas and opinions heard.  Athlete leadership is important because athletes have great ideas which need to be heard and without us Special Olympics wouldn't need to exist. Hopefully staff, coaches and volunteers will understand what athletes need more of, and everyone will have a better experience.”

Well done Niall.  I think the smile on your face says it all!

To read more about what Niall has to say and to find out how athletes can get involved, please click HERE.
CEO Blog
 
It’s been quite a whirlwind of a few weeks since my last blog.  I’ve been in Scotland and Birmingham, we’ve had a mention on BBC ONE, I’ve had some very exciting meetings planning for a wonderful future for our athletes and I’ve also attempted to take a few days off to sleep!

If you’d like to read more about what I’ve up to, please click HERE.

Have a great week!

Michelle 
Smile.amazon
 
We are delighted to say that if you sign up with smile.amazon.co.uk, every time you buy something, Amazon will donate a small percentage of that purchase to Special Olympics Great Britain – at no extra cost to you. 

It’s really simple to set up and a super easy way to make a difference without thinking about it.

Just be sure to search for Special Olympics Great Britain.

Click HERE to get started.

Sporting Highlights
 
It’s been a busy month of sporting achievements with Special Olympics GB athletes competing both at home and abroad.

At the end of September, 31 swimmers from Great Britain took part in the 5th Down Syndrome European Swimming in Sardinia in Italy.  Not only were there lots of personal bests and fantastic competition, but GB were officially classified as the TOP team in Europe!!

The swimmers were also in action in Liverpool for the 14th National Partnership Swimming Competition organised by Special Olympics GB alongside Mencap.  As always, it was a great day of competition, fun and making friends and it was fabulous to be in Liverpool – home to our National Games in 2021!

Congratulations to Special Olympics GB Men’s Basketball team for winning an award at the BBC 3 Counties Radio People’s Awards.

And congratulations to everyone involved in organising or taking part in the many sport sessions, events and competitions which happen week in and week out organised by our amazing volunteers across the country. 

If you’d like a story to be included in our newsletters – please send details and pictures to ALISON LAVENANT.
Fancy running London Marathon and raising £2,000 for SOGB?

 
We are excited to say Special Olympics Great Britain has been selected from the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon Charity Ballot for one guaranteed place in next year’s event.

If you're interested in running on our behalf and think you can raise at least £2000 for us along the way, for more information please click HERE

 
World Mental Health Day
 
This year, World Mental Health Day was on Thursday, October 10 and is a subject close to our hearts. 

According to Mencap, people with a learning disability are twice as likely to experience mental health problems.  And in some cases, an intellectual disability can often be confused with mental health issues.  Around 75% of Carers (MHF 2016) are said to experience their own mental health challenges.

For more information and advise as to what to do if you think someone needs some help, click HERE
Free online Autism Awareness course
 
We’ve been made aware of a free Autism awareness online course which we thought might be of interest.  Its aim is to develop understanding of the diverse condition of autism and give practical suggestions when working with autistic individuals.

The aim of this free course is to provide a better awareness of the term 'autism' and autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and how to support individuals with autism.

By successfully completing the course, you can achieve a nationally recognised NCFE Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Autism.

For more information, please click HERE.

Social Media
 
As you are all very well aware, our amazing athletes are at the heart of what we do and we would like to reflect that in our social media presence and on our website.

Come rain or shine – competition or no competition – we would love to see your pictures and videos and be able to share them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  Special Olympics GB is more than just the big events every few years, it’s about offering sport all year round and there is no better way to demonstrate that than by posting lots of great pictures of what we do.

Anyone who is active on Facebook and Twitter, can also play their part.   Please follow our pages and like and share our posts whenever you get chance - the more people who see our pictures and stories the better.  If you’re not sure where to find us – please click on the links below.

https://www.facebook.com/SpecialOlympicsGB/
https://twitter.com/SOGreatBritain
https://www.instagram.com/specialolympicsgb/

If you’re posting on these platforms,   please don’t forget to tag Special Olympics GB in your posts.   That way we can share them more widely and give support and increased credit to your supporters and partners.  ALISON LAVENANT is also happy to help if you’re stuck!
Accreditation Reminder
 
Many thanks to those clubs who have completed their accreditation for 2020 ahead of the Saturday, November 30 deadline.

We are aware there have been difficulties for some in the process.  While we are working on that and simplifying the process moving forward, we strongly recommend using the step-by-step guide HERE which shows what each section of the accreditation process looks like and the information required.  
  
Also, please don’t forget that as part of completing the accreditation process, clubs are required to review, update (where necessary) and return an up-to-date Athlete Census.    Please contact LAURA DAVIES to request your club 2019 Athlete Census.   

If you have questions please email TIM MASIH with subject title: Accreditation 2019.

Update on National Office
 
If for some reason you didn't read the September newsletter and missed the latest on the new internal structure, or need a reminder of who is doing what in National Office, please click HERE.

And finally...
 
For those of you not aware, Tim Shriver – Chairman of Special Olympics - has been heavily involved in a new film called Peanut Butter Jelly Falcon, which opens in UK cinemas on Friday, October 18

The film, described as a “feel-good story” has received amazing reviews and tells the story of Zak (Gottsagen), a young man with Down syndrome, who runs away from a residential nursing home to follow his dream of going to professional wrestling school. A strange ​turn of events pairs him on the road with Tyler (LaBeouf), a small-time outlaw on the run, who becomes Zak’s unlikely coach and ally.

The two writers Nilson and Shwartz set the film up specifically for Zak Gottsagen, who has Down syndrome, after they met him at a camp for disabled actors.   The film, which has been received widespread distribution and strong U.S. box office was difficult to get off the ground, not least because the team ignored calls from would-be financiers to cast a big name actor to play someone with Down syndrome.

So get your pop corn ready - sounds like a must-see film.  
 

 


 
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